Fiona Valpy

About me

Fiona Valpy lives in France, having moved there from the UK in 2007. She left behind a career in Marketing and Public Relations to explore new avenues and now teaches yoga and writes. Having renovated an old rambling farmhouse with her husband, she has developed new-found skills in cement-mixing and interior decorating, although her preferred pastime is winetasting.

Seven Magpies is her first novel, inspired by the people and the wines of the Bordeaux region. She has embarked on a second novel, so watch this space for more anon…

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Fiona Valpy posted a message
I have deleted my book from Completely Novel but it is still showing as available on Amazon. How ...I have deleted my book from Completely Novel but it is still showing as available on Amazon. How long does it take to disappear, or is there anything you can do to remove it please? (more)
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Fiona Valpy posted a message to David WatkinsThat's great news David - hope your sales start to rev up now. Something seems to be happening wi...That's great news David - hope your sales start to rev up now. Something seems to be happening with my book on Amazon too - it's still not available to buy from Amazon itself but a couple of other retailers seem to have popped up, so am hoping this is a positive sign... Best of luck and thanks for keeping me posted. (more)
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David Watkins posted a message to Fiona ValpyHi Fiona
Just for info my book is now available on Amazon. It is very clear just looking at the ...Hi Fiona
Just for info my book is now available on Amazon. It is very clear just looking at the Amazon page that something has changed in that it stops showing "out of stock" and says it is currently available plus several other retailers are popping up with books available. So good luck with yours and keep checking the Amazon page. If it seems nothing is happening get in touch with Oli here at CN
DLW (more)
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Fiona Valpy posted a message to David WatkinsThanks soo much for your helpful reply David. Will keep monitoring Amazon and hopefully the paper...Thanks soo much for your helpful reply David. Will keep monitoring Amazon and hopefully the paperback ordering will be live before too long. All the best. (more)
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David Watkins posted a message to Fiona ValpyFiona
What i think happens is that if you have the plus plan then people going onto Amazon will ...Fiona
What i think happens is that if you have the plus plan then people going onto Amazon will see the out of stock notice and the "order now and we'll let you know when available" etc etc message but there will also be another line for books available from the merchant CompletelyNovel (This is the merchant account that plus plan gets you). I have looked at your Amazon page and can see that you haven't yet got to that point, presumably as you only recently upgraded to plus plan before now upgrading to pro. I have trodden the same path!But like you, I wanted people to be able to buy direct from Amazon - that's what people do who want a book!They have no idea what CN is and prob no trust in it so they will not dare to use the CN merchant facility. The Pro Plan should achieve what we both want as I believe CN then becomes invisible to the Amazon public. My problem was that even when I upgraded to Pro, several month ago, nothing changed. I only recently was told by someone that they couldn't get the book from Amazon so I chased it up with Oli again and he is trying to get it sorted - my situation Oli says is a one off problem, the process just went wrong. In your case, if you have now upgraded to Pro, I would just keep checking your Amazon Books page every few days to see if the wording changes. There is a delay which I think Oli has mentioned so it will not happen overnight. I suggest you do what I have now done and actually place an order for your own book direct off the Amazon sales page - like any normal order. The signal that the process is working is when you get an e mail from Amazon telling you a delivery date. If the process is not sorted within a month it may be necessary to replace the order - just keep checking your order status in your own Amazon purchasing account. As I say, I am in the same boat - I have an oustanding order for my book with Amazon and I am going to keep monitoring that!
That's all I know at this point!I have complained to oli that it is just not clear enough but not sure he agrees!The one thing I do know is that this is really frustrating - my book is selling really well in Kindle format (I see you have that running on Amazon too)so i am sure people have been trying to buy the paperback, but once nothing happens people will just give up!
Best of luck with it anyway, and lets hope that the New Year brings some clarity! Happy New Year!
David W (more)
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Fiona Valpy posted a message to David WatkinsHi David and thank you for replying - I was starting to think there was no-one else out there! Th...Hi David and thank you for replying - I was starting to think there was no-one else out there! That does answer my question - I now understand that the only way to have paperbacks available to buy through Amazon is via the Pro Plan. (I'm still none the wiser as to what the Plus Plan achieves.) Having now upgraded to the Pro Plan I'm hoping this will mean people can order the paperback through Amazon and actually end up with a copy being delivered... Do you know if this is the case, or will orders still have to be placed through the 'Buy new and used' route on Amazon? Yours in confusion, Fiona
PS Happy New Year. (more)
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David Watkins posted a message to Fiona ValpyFiona, I sent this message to Oli a few months ago when I realised that it was only under the Pro...Fiona, I sent this message to Oli a few months ago when I realised that it was only under the Pro plan that retailers could source books direct from LS - as opposed to CN selling them through a so called Merchant account on Amazon. Please make sure that you fully understand that the plus plan gives you what you want. It is so complicated that I am not sure I understand it yet but I decided that I wanted Amazon to be able to source the book direct and hence I think the Pro plan is the only one that does that. If you are sure you understnd it then please ignore, otherwise double check and keep asking!!!!
Message i sent to Oli when i realised there was an issue
Oli
I have been under a mistaken belief that my book has been available to buy through the online retailers for several weeks – they all show it in their on line pages. I think I now understand though and today I have upgraded my plan to the Pro plan. I see it can take up to 6 weeks to get your files to them. Any improvement on that would be appreciated – I have been going to great lengths and expense to direct traffic to the retailers sites (without understanding they cant supply it). I do think you need to make it clearer how this all works -I know it has cropped up recently but until I saw the NEW information note that “you cant supply” I didnt understand – all I was aware of was that people were placing orders online with the retailers sites and were then not hearing anything!!!!
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David Watkins posted a message to Fiona ValpyHi Fiona
I have been watching your messages to Oli about Amazon not supplying the paperback of y...Hi Fiona
I have been watching your messages to Oli about Amazon not supplying the paperback of your book with interest. I have been down the exact same route and I still have not got Amazon supplying. I would be grateful if you will keep me updated on how you get on. I am beginning to think there is a major problem somewhere between CN, LS and Amazon. I have a book on order with Amazon myself, the latest one placed on 6th December so i am awaiting an e mail from Amazon giving a del date. That is the confirmation they have linked up with LS. I am aware though that if Amazon dont get back within a month of an order being placed then the order is auto cancelled so keep an eye on it! I am so frustrated by this as the Kindle version (set up direct with them of course ) has been seeling really well but despite me thinking the paperback was available through them as long ago as the summer, still nothing on that front. Best wishes
David Watkins (more)
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